This morning in the 33rd Circuit Court, Ernest William Alex Sulkowski, Jr., 32, Boyne Falls, was sentenced to 20 to 60 months in prison on a charge of attempted assault by strangulation.

The incident occurred in the City of Boyne City of July 28, 2018. Sulkowski pleaded guilty on November 6, 2018.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Sulkowski grabbed the victim and began strangling her by using his arm from behind her, squeezing hard enough that she nearly lost consciousness. The victim was 13 weeks pregnant at the time of the assault.

Boyne City Police Department officers responded to the scene and observed the victim’s mouth lined with blood and one of her teeth broken off near the base. They also saw red marks and an abrasion on her neck which appeared slightly swollen.

Sulkowski is a former mixed martial arts fighter and trainer.

“This successful prosecution is the result of a very brave victim, good police work by Officer Kyle Smith who documented the numerous injuries the victim suffered and determined prosecution by (Charlevoix County Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney) Kerry Zahner and the work of Victim Advocate Libby Mikulski,” Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof said. “Strangulation is a very dangerous crime, especially when the victim is pregnant. Even a momentary loss of oxygen and blood supply can be permanently damaging.”

The advisory sentencing guidelines called for a minimum sentencing range of 5 to 23 months.

Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof asked for a sentence at the high end of the guidelines which would have been 23 to 120 months in state prison.

Namulauulu was originally charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct, Third Degree (Incapacitated Victim), a 15-year felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the matter, in the early morning hours of April 29, 2018 in the City of Charlevoix, Namulauulu entered the bedroom of a woman who was asleep and sexually assaulted her.

The woman had met Namulauulu earlier that day. She had stayed home while the defendant and a group of friends went out to a bar.

Anthony Gene Michanowicz, 29, Boyne City, pleaded no contest to careless discharge of a firearm causing death in the 33rd Circuit Court. The charge is a high court misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the case, Michanowicz was showing a new .45 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol he had just purchased to Greg Van Stedum and another individual at a residence in the City of Charlevoix on April 14, 2018.

Michanowicz removed the magazine from the gun and handed the gun to the other man who looked at it then handed it to Greg who gave it back to Michanowicz. As Michanowicz was putting the magazine back into the pistol, it fired, killing Van Stedum.

The crime involved states that a person is guilty where, because of carelessness, recklessness or negligence, but not willfully or wantonly, a person causes or allows a firearm under his immediate control to be discharged so as to kill or injure another person.

Michanowicz pleaded no contest because of the potential for civil liability arising from the incident. A no contest plea has the same result as a guilty plea for all purposes related to the criminal case.

For the second straight week, a Charlevoix County man was sentenced to prison for stealing drugs.

Trent Jay Cowles, 20, Boyne Falls, was sentenced to serve 30 to 48 months in prison related to an incident which occurred on May 9, 2017 in Hayes Township. Cowles and three other men gained entry to the residence through a window. They were all wearing ski masks. Cowles was brandishing a fiberglass driveway marker stake. When questioned by police, the men admitted they stole drugs, drug paraphernalia and a gun from the home.

Cowles pleaded guilty to larceny in a building and assault with a dangerous weapon, both felonies with a maximum penalty of four years in prison. In exchange for these guilty pleas, the more serious charge of conspiracy to commit first degree home invasion, a twenty-year felony, was dismissed.

After imposing sentence, Circuit Court Judge Roy C. Hayes III indicated that at a later date he would consider allowing Cowles to serve his time with the Michigan Department of Corrections through the Special Alternative Incarceration program. This program is commonly referred to as “boot camp.”

“We hear repeatedly that the use of drugs is a victimless crime,” Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof said. “However, over and over we see that people who use drugs commit other crimes to fuel their habits. The drugs also cause them to make poor decisions.”

Last week Judge Hayes sentenced Trevor James Blackwell of Charlevoix to prison for tampering with evidence and the theft of medical marijuana plants from two locations in Charlevoix County. Cowles was also a co-defendant in one of those thefts. On that charge, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of larceny over $200 but less than $1,000 in the 90th District Court.

On Friday, Sept. 7, Trevor James Blackwell, 26, Charlevoix was sentenced to prison in the 33rd Circuit Court for breaking and entering a pole barn with intent and tampering with evidence. Blackwell was subject to an enhanced sentence because he had previous felony convictions.

According to affidavits filed by police, on Sept. 10, 2017, Blackwell and other individuals broke into two different medical marijuana grow operations where they stole over 100 marijuana plants.

While Blackwell was awaiting trial on these charges, he convinced one of his fellow offenders to write a false letter stating that Blackwell was not involved. The letter was given to Blackwell’s attorney for use in court, but under oath the witness admitted the letter was false.

Circuit Court Judge Roy C. Hayes III sentenced Blackwell to 48 to 240 months in prison on the breaking and entering charge and an additional 23 to 48 months on the evidence tampering charge to be served consecutively. Blackwell received 112 days of jail credit.

Blackwell was also charged originally with larceny $20,000 or more (for the other marijuana theft), home invasion first degree (for the theft of a television on a different date) and witness intimidation. Those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

“One of the most important parts of the sentence was the consecutive time on the evidence tampering,” Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof said. “It was discretionary by the court, however, the judge agreed that to sentence that time concurrently would give no punishment for the crime. It is important that when someone is charged with a crime that they know if they intimidate witnesses or create false evidence, they will be getting more time behind bars.”

Namulauulu was originally charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct, Third Degree (Incapacitated Victim), a 15-year felony.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed in the matter, in the early morning hours of April 29, 2018 in the City of Charlevoix, Namulauulu entered the bedroom of a woman who was asleep and sexually assaulted her.

The woman had met Namulauulu earlier that day. She had stayed home while the defendant and a group of friends went out to a bar.

Karlis Vitols, 29, Miami Springs, Florida, pleaded guilty this morning to obtaining $1,000 or more but less than $20,000 by false pretenses in the 33rd Circuit Court. Vitols will be sentenced on Sept. 14. The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison.

Vitols’ plea was entered with the assistance of a Latvian translator as he is a citizen of Latvia. Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office arrested Vitols in Miami, Florida as he was preparing to board a plane to leave the country.

In his guilty plea, Vitols acknowledged that money had been transferred into a bank account in his name that was part of a fraud or scam. According to an affidavit filed by police, a Charlevoix County resident agreed to purchase a classic car online through a website that was purportedly of a car dealership located in Kansas. In fact, the dealership had closed a year earlier and was no longer in business.

The victim wire transferred over $18,000 into an account as directed by the “dealership” and the money was received by Vitols. The victim did not receive his vehicle, but rather numerous excuses for delay. He called the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office.

“This was a result of great police work by Detectives Ben Speigl and Mike Wheat,” Charlevoix County Prosecuting Attorney Allen Telgenhof said. “They broke down the scheme and found that not only had our Charlevoix County person been victimized, but a number of people across the country had been taken as well.”

“The detectives shared information with law enforcement agencies from other states and the FBI and as a result there will be other prosecutions in other jurisdictions as well. If not for the work of the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office, this defendant would have fled the country. We are very fortunate for a county our size to have detectives of this caliber and a sheriff who supports prosecution of crimes that may involve traveling to other states for investigation and arrest.”

Vitols has a co-defendant, Matiss Puke, who was also arrested in Florida by the Charlevoix County Sheriff’s Office. Puke is charged with false pretenses and using a computer to commit a crime. Puke was also listed in the federal indictment referenced above.

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Bear Bryant on Leadership

This is one of my favorite quotes - it relates to coaching but also so much more.

"If you want to coach, you have three rules to follow to win.

One, surround yourself with people who can't live without the game. I've had a lot of them.

Two, be able to recognize winners. They come in all forms.

And, three, have a plan for everything: a plan for practice, a plan for the game, a plan for being ahead, and a plan for being behind 20-0 at half, with your quarterback hurt and the phones dead, with it raining cats and dogs and no rain gear because the equipment man left it at home."